23 reviews of this school

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Highline Academy Charter School1

Posted December 01, 2014
- a parent

Highline Academy is a great school for academics, however my one star review is in regards to student safety. My son is autistic and the teachers and staff are very much aware of his needs. Last week my son at release time was able to walk out passed the front desk out the front doors to the school and began to wonder down the busy streets the school borders including a freeway. This is the biggest fear for a parent. We are fortunate that my wife was on campus that day. She was volunteering for another classroom and asked his teacher to have him sent their to meet her. When he did not show she looked for him. She asked staff to assist her however they were "busy" and did not assist. She eventually found him wondering the streets that border the school I have left message for the school to contact me to discuss the matter and they have not since returned my calls or emails. It has been 4 days since the incident occurred. I am incredibly disappointed as a parent and am very concerned that the school has the student's safety in mind if this can happen.

The school is great academically. My kindergartner has become a proficient reader in just a few weeks at the school, and the interdisciplinary math is excellent. Despite the excellent academics, the terrible communication from the school has caused us to start looking for another school for next year. The lack of communication, unclear or untimely communication about events, car line process, test results, everything is institution-wide and is frustrating to a fault. The most recent example occurred today. I just received a voicemail telling us that the annual Thanksgiving dinner/lunch times were changed. This is the first time I have heard of a Thanksgiving dinner/lunch and the message is that the times have changed--but the original times were never communicated. Notification of an event two days before it occurs is frustrating, especially for working parents who are notified about a working-hours event just two days before. And as a kicker, the event still isn't listed on the website, so even proactive parents that check the website are left out of the loop. Parents of kindergartners/new students beware.

Highine Academy is a gem in education. The teachers are incredibly dedicated, skilled and focused on making sure they see that students are learning targeted and meaningful objectives. Watching instructors--and the students--in action is liking watching a documentary on how education should always look. The students are respectful, motivated and having a good time truly mastering skills and knowledge that they need for college, career and success.

My children are in 5th and 6th grade now and have been with Highline since kindergarten. We love the school and I have recommended it to many parents. The staff is great and the teachers have been so supportive of our kids. Both are performing above grade level in literacy and one in math as well. There are parents who send their children to Highline that are teachers at the public schools in our neighborhood because they like Highline so much better than the schools where they teach. I think that says a lot about what a great school Highline is!

We joined the Highline family this fall. My son is in 1st grade. I thought the transition would be tough, but he loves school! The teachers have been amazing and supportive. Highline focuses on the needs of the children and has performance groups. These groups allow children to learn at at their pace and in their levels. We are so happy to be able to attend Highline!

I chose this school because of its focus on not only academics but also character development. It is highly diverse in its student population and has some diversity in its teachers as well. The teaching staff are motivated and encouraging. They LOVE their jobs and they speak so highly of the students. My daughter is in middle school now and I believe the teaching team is really in tune with the teenagers they teach. They know what interests them, the teachers meet the students at their level and then the teachers push them to advance. The administrative staff are very supportive as well and since it is a smaller school they seem to know all of the kids' names! My daughter has done so well at Highline and she is always eager to return to school after breaks. I would HIGHLY recommend this school to any family and have done so!

My daughter is now in 8th grade at Highline Academy and was part of their inaugural kindergarten class 9 years ago. My son is in 4th grade. I cannot express the pride and faith I have in this school. Their curriculum (ability grouping is so realistic and helps children succeed), their teacher commitment, parent involvement, and diversity are some of the things that make me proudest. I am an educator in a neighboring district and cannot compare any of our schools to Highline. Lastly, I do not place all my faith in state assessment, however, Highline has been blowing the top off of state testing esp. when compared to neighboring schools. I would recommend this school to anyone and I stand proudly behind it. I completely disagree with the review that states Highline does not hold students accountable nor challenges students. It is completely the opposite.

Not impressed with the school. My son is not challenged, no one holds him accountable for anything, too many reward systems so even HE doesn't know why he gets rewards when he does. Work that is woefully wrong gets A's for grades because the rubric didn't require it to be accurate, so he didn't have to fix anything. No one requires him to spell correctly, which coming from a family of teachers is very hard to swallow. Communication between some of the teachers and family was good, others we could never reach. Still shaking my head as to why people are loving it so so much.

I am going to be a eighth grader this year at Highline. I have been here since 3rd grade and I habe learned so much more than othe students my age due to the amazing teachers and staff. I love highline!!! If there was a highline high school, I would not be leaving. Thank you so much for everything Highline!!!